Thoughts, comments, news, and reflections about healthcare IT from Microsoft's worldwide health senior director Bill Crounse, MD, on how information technology can improve healthcare delivery and services around the world.

Sepsis is defined as the presence of pathogenic organisms or their toxins in the blood or other tissues. It is characterized by a systemic inflammatory response which can progress to circulatory system dysfunction, multiple organ failure, and death...

The timely transfer of information between consulting radiologists and physicians on the front lines of care can mean the difference between life and death. In fact, high quality medical practice in every specialty is deeply dependant on appropriate communication...

My work at Microsoft takes me all over the world to visit hospitals, health systems, and clinics. I also have the opportunity to meet with lots of physician leaders, health ministers, and industry luminaries from other countries. In addition...

If you search the term "unified communications" on this Blog, you'll see that it is a frequent topic. I'm a huge proponent of the need for better tools to manage caregiver communication and collaboration in healthcare. For way too...

The headline may have brought you here, but please read on.
Regular HealthBlog readers know I'm passionate about using information technology and the Internet to improve health around the world. There's never been a better tool to help us deliver health...

For a change, I'm at my home office in Redmond this week. In fact, I'll be here the next few weeks before heading off to Europe again for a speaking engagement and some much needed vacation.
My week started with a briefing for industry and government...

Next month I travel to Luxembourg to deliver a keynote address at the annual Med-e-Tel conference. The conference focuses on ehealth and telemedicine applications as well as a wide range of other medical ICT applications. It also examines the convergence...

HIMSS 08 is now behind us. Thanks to my many friends, business colleagues and HealthBlog readers who stopped by the Microsoft booth to say "hello". Thanks also to all of you who stood around to hear me kick off our Microsoft Theater session "Improving...

During the Sydney stopover on my recent speaking tour and business meetings with customers around Australia, I was invited to sit down for an interview with Sky News , Australia's leading 24-hour national cable news network. We discussed the emergence...

With people living longer, many with chronic diseases, the demand for healthcare services becomes ever greater leading to increased costs to governments, employers, and private insurers. What if there was technology that would help connect the elderly...

Two items of interest today; both good news for stimulating the transformation of healthcare into the digital age and giving consumers more control over their health information. The first announcement comes from Google and a pilot they will run with...

Next Monday, February 25th, is the opening of HIMSS 08 in Orlando, Florida. If you plan to attend, I hope you will join us in booth 2247 to see firsthand how Microsoft technologies and solutions, and those of our partners, are being used to improve health...

Unlike America, the economy in Australia is booming. Anyone who wants to work is employed. The big worry here is inflation. Like America and other developed nations, Australia faces an aging population, the burden of chronic disease and a growing shortage...

Regular HealthBlog readers know that I often find symbolism in things that I see as I travel the world. In Japan it was a wooden bridge in a serene garden. In Switzerland it was the Swiss Army Knife. In Banff Canada it was a ladder reaching toward a star...

I've written before on HealthBlog about the importance of providing data input options in IT solutions for clinicians. Expecting busy practitioners to document everything using only a keyboard isn't practical. I've also stressed the importance of mobility...

OK, I hope the headline caught your attention. If you are a clinician, keep reading. If you are not a doctor, nurse or other healthcare provider it's OK to read this too. In fact, you probably should.
A regular theme on HealthBlog has been the growing...

In a HealthBlog post last October , I told you about Microsoft's acquisition of software, intellectual property, and other assets from Global Care Solutions (GCS), a privately held company based in Bangkok, Thailand. The GCS Hospital 2000 information...

Previously on HealthBlog I told you about some terrific work being done at Arkansas Children's Hospital to improve the patient experience for hospitalized children. The hospital's own IT staff had developed a bedside information, communication, and entertainment...

This week I'm traveling in the UK. My first stop was in Glasgow, Scotland, to address IT executives from NHS Scotland who were holding a meeting at Golden Jubilee Hospital . The hospital, originally built by Arab business interests as a private hospital...

Did you ever wonder why you can do almost everything on-line these days except "see" your doctor? Wouldn't it be great if healthcare professionals, hospitals, and clinics were as net-savvy as other service industries? Well friends, there is hope.
I...